Narrowboat Bristol Fashion is on sale again. The colour scheme’s now grey, and the wooden cabin is long gone, but she still has a distinctive shape and has had a modern refitting.
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Narrowboat Audrey Too’s interior
What’s it like inside a sixty foot narrowboat? Narrow, obviously. But also cosy. We have a living room, sizeable gallery (or kitchen), double bedroom, bathroom with shower, back bedroom with bunk beds, and a cruiser style back of the boat to stand on.
Our narrowboat’s galley
The galley is what boaters call their kitchen. We have a 240 volt fridge and freezer, gas oven and hob, and a noisy but effective extractor fan that comes on when the galley lights switch on. To the front of the galley is the lounge, with a hatch that opens onto the canal, and beyond it you can see the bedroom. The quality of the interior fittings is good and this is a cosy place to live.
Canal Planner
At www2.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/index.cgi (a shorter, more memorable URL would be nice) you’ll find Canal Planner, an incredibly versatile journey-planning website backed by a comprehensive database of waterways features. I’ve only made relatively short trips on just a few waterways so I never used it before; a copy of the relevant Nicholson’s guide was sufficient. But now […]
Craft a Craft
Interested in boat-building? Take a look at the Craft a Craft website which has a custom Google search engine for finding boat-building information.
NOT a narrowboat training video
Some narrow boaters (as opposed to fat boaters?) are using the YouTube website to publish their videos and some are actually quite entertaining. Here are a few worth watching. And there’s plenty more…
Leaving my job, moving on
This week I’m leaving the job I’ve been in for over six years to go freelance. It’s a big step and I’m nervous because I need to bring in enough money to keep both me and the boat going; with no monthly wage it’s a gamble, especially considering how much has gone on repairs lately. […]
Repairs done, more problems arise
Bristol Fashion has been in Denham Yacht Station, in Uxbridge, for two weeks. It’s an odd-shaped little boatyard with boats crammed in one against another in a long, narrow cut of water. J.P. Marine have found and fixed my water leak, the central heating and pumps are working again and the boat is drying out […]
Ken’s looking for a London mooring
Ken asked me a question: I’ve just spent the evening browsing apolloduck for widebeams, rather than working again… I visited Whilton & Braunston marinas on Sunday and saw a wide range of Narrowboats and one widebeam. I’ve realised though that the Mooring is the thing. Do you continually cruise the network, or do you have […]
Living in a corridor
Ken asked me ~ How have you adapted to the confines of a narrow boat, and do you ever wish you had a widebeam or a dutch barge? Living in a narrowboat is a bit like living in a corridor that wobbles. The narrow space has never bothered me. Perhaps because the boat’s quite open […]
A bumpy night
It was very rainy and windy last night. The boat kept lurching unexpectedly, making it difficult to walk up and down (although the mulled wine couldn’t have helped). This morning I was woken up by the sound of drawers sliding open in the kitchen, then by a picture falling off the wall onto my feet. […]
Buying a TV licence
Had some fun yesterday. I phoned TV Licensing and asked to buy a licence. What’s your address? I don’t have one because I live on a boat. OK, then what’s your correspondence address? I don’t have one. Then where does your mail go? I don’t receive any. Then you can’t get a licence. In that […]